Panama Qualified Investor Visa 2026: $300K New, $500K Resale

On September 1 we published that Decree 193 of 2024 set US$300,000 with no expiry date and that there was no US$500,000 figure for real estate. A week later, the Executive issued a new decree that changed that framework. We have rewritten this analysis under the regulation now in force; Decree 193 remains at the end as background.

What Executive Decree 17 of 2026 establishes

Executive Decree No. 17 of September 8, 2026 was published in Official Gazette No. 30613 and has been in force since September 16, 2026. It replaces Executive Decree 722 of 2020 — the regulation that created the Qualified Investor subcategory — and its amendments, including Decree 193 of 2024. The core change: the real estate route no longer has a single minimum; it now distinguishes between new and resale property.

Every route requires holding the investment for 5 years. Sources: Ministry of Commerce and Industries (September 21, 2026) and the analyses by Icaza, González-Ruiz & Alemán and by PMA Lawyers (September 2026), linked at the end.

New or resale property: how it's classified

The US$200,000 difference turns on a single question: whether the property has ever been on the market before. According to Icaza's analysis, the decree treats as new an unoccupied property acquired from the developer or its successor as a first sale, and treats as secondary market a property previously marketed, occupied, leased or transferred to an unrelated third party.

• —You buy a never-occupied unit from the developer: it's new, and the minimum is US$300,000.
• —The unit was never lived in but has already been rented: it counts as resale, and the minimum is US$500,000.
• —You buy from an individual who bought from the developer, even if they never occupied it: it was transferred to an unrelated third party, so it's resale.
• —Before reserving, we check the property's transfer history at the Public Registry: that's the documentary way to prove its condition.

What changes for luxury property buyers

Little, and the data shows it. The segment we work in generally sits above both thresholds:

• —New construction: the 12 developer projects we present in Santa María, Costa del Este and Ocean Reef start at US$485,675 (Corotú, Santa María) and reach US$2,056,768 (Casa Bosco, Santa María Norte). They're first sales from the developer, the US$300,000 minimum applies, and every one of them clears it on price. List prices from our inventory as of September 23, 2026.
• —Resale: our property for sale in Punta Paitilla — PH The Towers, 394 m², 4 bedrooms — is listed at US$1,370,000, almost three times the resale minimum.
• —On resale, the dividing line is floor area. At the May 2026 median resale asking price from our market study — US$2,696/m² in Punta Pacífica and US$2,762/m² in Costa del Este — a unit reaches US$500,000 from about 186 m² and 181 m², respectively (US$500,000 ÷ price per m²). Large three-bedroom units and penthouses sit above it; one- and two-bedroom apartments in those same towers can fall below.

Where the rule does bite is the middle of the market. Panamá América (September 21, 2026) puts at around 30,000 the resale properties priced between US$250,000 and US$450,000, with a time to sell of 9 to 14 months, and reports lawyer and broker Berlisa Arosemena's warning that the measure will slow down the secondary, or resale, market. For buyers above US$500,000, the visa remains just as available on resale as on new construction. For those targeting a US$300,000–450,000 resale, the alternatives are buying new from the developer or raising the budget.

Financing, pre-construction and source of funds

• —Mortgage: the amount above the minimum can be financed, provided no lien reduces the net computable value below the required minimum (Icaza). On an US$800,000 resale, that leaves room for up to US$300,000 of mortgage; on a new unit, up to the price minus US$300,000.
• —Pre-construction: a promise-to-purchase qualifies from US$300,000 with an irrevocable banking instrument from a licensed Panamanian bank, and may not remain under that structure for more than three cumulative years (PMA Lawyers). If the default is attributable to the developer, there is a special 180-business-day window to substitute the investment, and substitution through another promise can only be used once (Icaza).
• —Funds: they must belong to the applicant, come from abroad and have a documented trail; amounts received as gifts or donations from third parties don't count (Icaza and PMA Lawyers).
• —Timelines: the Ministry of Commerce and Industries issues the investment certificate within 15 business days, and the National Immigration Service rules within 30 business days (PMA Lawyers).

If your process started before September 16, 2026

• —Applications filed before the decree took effect are governed by the requirements, conditions and amounts in force when they were filed.
• —According to Icaza and PMA Lawyers, investments completed before the effective date can use the previous regime if the application is filed within the following six months.
• —Pending applications have 12 months to convert to Qualified Investor if they qualify; Icaza specifies that the conversion applies to applicants under Own Economic Solvency.

If you bought a resale between US$300,000 and US$500,000 before September 16 and haven't filed yet, the six-month window is the critical variable: review it with your immigration attorney without delay.

The program in numbers

According to the Ministry of Commerce and Industries, 268 Qualified Investor certificates were issued between July 2025 and June 2026, backed by B/.113.6 million; the prior period saw 193 certificates and B/.90.1 million. The Ministry presents the decree as a way to channel that investment into new projects and the activity they generate in construction, services and commerce.

Background: Decree 193 of 2024 and the October 'deadline'

The previous version of this article, from September 1, 2026, analyzed Executive Decree 193 of October 15, 2024 (Official Gazette 30140-B), which set the real estate minimum at US$300,000 with no expiry date and reserved US$500,000 for the securities route. Under that regulation, the 'rise to US$500,000 on October 15, 2026' repeated by golden-visa portals had no written basis, and we warned that the real risk was a new decree without prior notice, because the law requires the amounts to be reviewed every two years. That is what happened, with two nuances: Decree 17 arrived before October, and it only raises the minimum for resale.

Transparency: Vaca Group is a licensed real estate brokerage (PN 5904), not a law firm. This article is general information about Executive Decree 17 of 2026, verified as of September 23, 2026 against the sources cited. Before reserving or moving funds, confirm your case with an immigration attorney.